The Dog and the Dry Bone - Tasting its Own Gums
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 04, 2014 12:49AM
[www.rollingstone.com]
Though Amma has a cursory understanding of English, one of her swamis sits on the floor and serves as a translator. Two staff members are assigned to video our interview, while everyone else is quietly off to the side, and it is evident that, for them, this is a rare experience, getting to spend so much time with Amma in a private setting.
During our talk, Amma is as charming as she is opaque, with many of her answers digressing into the kind of metaphor-sprinkled monologues she favors when addressing large crowds.
There are no sessions today, and I ask her what she does on her days off – if, perhaps, she uses them to get a night of restorative sleep. "No, son, I didn't sleep much," she replies, explaining that after the previous day's services, which ended at 5 a.m., she retreated to her room, where she first read the letters given to her during the hugging, and then spent a few hours answering e-mails.
"I laid down at 9:30 and got up around 11:00."
She does not seem the least bit fatigued.
An hour with Amma is a long time for a devotee – more than most spend in a lifetime – but it is not so long for an interview, so I do my best to push things along. There are some who accuse you of being inauthentic, I say. How do you address that?
"I would not blame them," she says. "When a poet sees a flower, he writes poetry about it; a scientist will conduct research on it; a boyfriend will give it to his girlfriend; a worm will eat it; a devotee of God will offer it to God. Similarly, each person comes with his own attitude. It's their right. They have the right to accept or to reject. For me, both types of people are equal.
"All I am concerned with is what positive I can do. Different people will think different things – that is the nature of the world. People have the right to have faith or not to have faith."
Being a godlike figure to so many, do you have anyone whom you consider a god or guru?
"For me, everything in creation is God," she says. "There is nothing but God. Every single object is a wonder for me."
Trying to bring the interview back to a less celestial place, I ask what would happen when she "leaves her body," as devotees refer to the death of a guru. Is there a plan in place to comfort your followers, not to mention control the charities?
"Our goal is to live in the present moment," says Amma, who throughout the interview wavers between the first and third person when talking about herself.
"Even the next breath is not in our hands. So Amma doesn't think about anything like that. It will all continue forward. It is not 'I' who made it grow."
Moving on, I bring up her younger followers, particularly those who have given up much of their time and money in order to travel with her, to live at her ashram. Does she ever worry if they're using it all as a form of escape?
"Spirituality is not a form of escapism; it is courage," she says. "The dog chews on the dry bone, thinking that it is getting flesh, but in reality the taste it is relishing is coming from the lacerations inflicted by the bone upon its own gums."
She does not deny that some may come to her for less than pure reasons, but, somewhat jarringly, she seems to avoid any responsibility in this, deflecting it all back onto her followers. "Someone who does not know how to swim will drown if he tries to swim in the ocean waves," she says. "Someone who knows how to swim enjoys it. That is the difference."
Does she believe, like her devotees do, that she has achieved true enlightenment?
"If I say I have, then there will be two – an ego arises. It is not a matter of calling it a flower, but of becoming the flower. One cannot know the sweetness of honey by writing 'honey' on a piece of paper and licking it."
Assuming, then, that she does know the sweetness of honey, so to speak, I wonder how long it takes to achieve such a discerning palate – how long, in other words, does a devotee need to spend in her presence to reach enlightenment?
"Whether you stay for many years or just a small amount of time, what you accept depends upon your mental attitude," she says. "It is at the base of the lighthouse that it is the darkest. A mosquito will never get milk from the udder of a cow, only blood. The bee draws honey from the flower, but the beetle only drubs through the dirt."
And so it goes, her talk growing ever more metaphysical and impenetrable until my time is up. As I get up to leave, Amma stands, and again embraces me, pulling me in close and tight for a long time. I close my eyes, and, for a moment, give in. Darkness. Warmth. Calm. For those few seconds everything she has said suddenly makes perfect sense, the way dreams seem real until you wake up. Then she lets me go, and inevitably the harsher light of reality intrudes once more.
This story is from the August 16th, 2012 issue of Rolling Stone.
Though Amma has a cursory understanding of English, one of her swamis sits on the floor and serves as a translator. Two staff members are assigned to video our interview, while everyone else is quietly off to the side, and it is evident that, for them, this is a rare experience, getting to spend so much time with Amma in a private setting.
During our talk, Amma is as charming as she is opaque, with many of her answers digressing into the kind of metaphor-sprinkled monologues she favors when addressing large crowds.
There are no sessions today, and I ask her what she does on her days off – if, perhaps, she uses them to get a night of restorative sleep. "No, son, I didn't sleep much," she replies, explaining that after the previous day's services, which ended at 5 a.m., she retreated to her room, where she first read the letters given to her during the hugging, and then spent a few hours answering e-mails.
"I laid down at 9:30 and got up around 11:00."
She does not seem the least bit fatigued.
An hour with Amma is a long time for a devotee – more than most spend in a lifetime – but it is not so long for an interview, so I do my best to push things along. There are some who accuse you of being inauthentic, I say. How do you address that?
"I would not blame them," she says. "When a poet sees a flower, he writes poetry about it; a scientist will conduct research on it; a boyfriend will give it to his girlfriend; a worm will eat it; a devotee of God will offer it to God. Similarly, each person comes with his own attitude. It's their right. They have the right to accept or to reject. For me, both types of people are equal.
"All I am concerned with is what positive I can do. Different people will think different things – that is the nature of the world. People have the right to have faith or not to have faith."
Being a godlike figure to so many, do you have anyone whom you consider a god or guru?
"For me, everything in creation is God," she says. "There is nothing but God. Every single object is a wonder for me."
Trying to bring the interview back to a less celestial place, I ask what would happen when she "leaves her body," as devotees refer to the death of a guru. Is there a plan in place to comfort your followers, not to mention control the charities?
"Our goal is to live in the present moment," says Amma, who throughout the interview wavers between the first and third person when talking about herself.
"Even the next breath is not in our hands. So Amma doesn't think about anything like that. It will all continue forward. It is not 'I' who made it grow."
Moving on, I bring up her younger followers, particularly those who have given up much of their time and money in order to travel with her, to live at her ashram. Does she ever worry if they're using it all as a form of escape?
"Spirituality is not a form of escapism; it is courage," she says. "The dog chews on the dry bone, thinking that it is getting flesh, but in reality the taste it is relishing is coming from the lacerations inflicted by the bone upon its own gums."
She does not deny that some may come to her for less than pure reasons, but, somewhat jarringly, she seems to avoid any responsibility in this, deflecting it all back onto her followers. "Someone who does not know how to swim will drown if he tries to swim in the ocean waves," she says. "Someone who knows how to swim enjoys it. That is the difference."
Does she believe, like her devotees do, that she has achieved true enlightenment?
"If I say I have, then there will be two – an ego arises. It is not a matter of calling it a flower, but of becoming the flower. One cannot know the sweetness of honey by writing 'honey' on a piece of paper and licking it."
Assuming, then, that she does know the sweetness of honey, so to speak, I wonder how long it takes to achieve such a discerning palate – how long, in other words, does a devotee need to spend in her presence to reach enlightenment?
"Whether you stay for many years or just a small amount of time, what you accept depends upon your mental attitude," she says. "It is at the base of the lighthouse that it is the darkest. A mosquito will never get milk from the udder of a cow, only blood. The bee draws honey from the flower, but the beetle only drubs through the dirt."
And so it goes, her talk growing ever more metaphysical and impenetrable until my time is up. As I get up to leave, Amma stands, and again embraces me, pulling me in close and tight for a long time. I close my eyes, and, for a moment, give in. Darkness. Warmth. Calm. For those few seconds everything she has said suddenly makes perfect sense, the way dreams seem real until you wake up. Then she lets me go, and inevitably the harsher light of reality intrudes once more.
This story is from the August 16th, 2012 issue of Rolling Stone.
Commonplace stories used in guru talk
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 04, 2014 01:34AM
[webcache.googleusercontent.com]
"As a hungry street-dog, munching a bare bone, and tasting its own blood, might think the taste is in the bone, so do we assume that the pleasures that we enjoy are in the things that we seek and get hold of. It may be said that desire is the cause of our being exiled from the happiness that is within us, and its momentary cessation just allows us to taste a little of that happiness for the time being.""
[www.google.com]
One advantage of speaking in metaphors is that each listener can project whatever he or she wishes.
Metaphors - dry bones
Listeners project their own depths, their own meaning onto the metphor, and by doing so, taste themselves, thinking they are imbibing Amma's wisdom.
The hungry dog and dry bone analogy appears to be part of the Indian guru story telling trade.
These are standard tropes, cliches.
In a much earlier post, there is a description of these stories. Persons who are in ashrams will probably be as familiar with them as lullabies.
Snake and Rope story
[forum.culteducation.com]
Note here, Ammachi was quoted in this account as using a version of the snake and rope story. "THE TWO POWERS OF THE MIND
The mind has two powers: the veiling power and the power of projection. First, the mind veils the true nature of phenomenon, and then it misinterprets it. That is why Amma says that the mind is a liar. It covers the truth and makes us mistake the truth for something else.
A man was walking alone along a village path. It was getting dark and he was struggling to find his way in the dim light. Suddenly something bit him in the foot. He felt the area with his hand and discovered a small wound. He could also feel that it was bleeding. He suddenly froze when he saw a snake lying coiled in a bush next to him. He must have been bitten by the snake. The panic stricken man screamed at the top of his lungs "Help! I have been bitten by a poisonous snake! I'm going to die! Please, someone come and take me to a doctor!"
The man was hysterical. He called and he called. He was now beginning to feel terribly tired and his head was spinning as if he were about to faint. He sat on the ground and continued to call for help. Within a few minutes, a man appeared out of the dark. He was carrying a torch and asked "What is the matter? What happened?"
"I was bitten by a poisonous snake. I am dying. Can you take me to a doctor?"
"Don't worry, of course I will help you. But where exactly did it happen?" asked the stranger.
"Right here, on this very spot. Look at the bush, there's a snake there !!" replied the man.
The stranger turned his torch towards the bush, and what did he see? A thorn bush with a piece of rope entangled in it. The stranger said "Take a good look! It's a thorn bush. A thorn must have pricked your foot. The unfortunate thing was that you simultaneously saw the rope in the dim light and mistook it for a snake. Thus you were convinced that you had been bitten by a snake. But now you know the truth, you can calm down." Once the man realized the truth, all symptoms of tiredness and dizziness disappeared and he began to relax.
This is how the mind plays it's tricks on us.(unquote)
truthisone.info/docs/insights/am-mind-is-a-big-lie.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages
Clay Pot story
[forum.culteducation.com]
Flowers and Flowers in the Vase analogy
[forum.culteducation.com]
And unfortunately, will accept a mere analogy as an explanation or proof.
SUMMER SHOWERS IN BRINDAVAN. 1972. Discourses by. BHAGAVAN SRI
SATHYA SAI BABA
From a 1972 document Flowers in Brindaban - discourses by Satya Sai Baba. He quoted this yet presided over a social scene in which thousands were pathetically dependant upon him - and too many were molested.
"This is not correct. It is only when you are able toovercome this ignorance, it is only when you are able to throw awaythis illusion that there is something sacred which is coming fromoutside, then alone can you realise your own real nature
There is a small example for this. A dog got hold of a drybone and put it in its mouth with the intention of eating it. Howevermuch the dog tried to eat the dry bone, it was not able to get any es-sence or juice out of that. In its desire to get something out of thatdry bone, it bit hard with its teeth. The sharp portion of the dry bonecut into the soft mouth of the dog. Immediately, blood started flow-ing out of the mouth of the dog. The dog then thought that, at last,out of the bone was coming some juice, some blood, and it startedsucking its own blood with great pleasure.
The dog was not awarethe blood had come from within itself. When you look at this story,you will realise that we are also more or less in the same position. Solong as we remain in this ignorance, it means we are like dogs.If we succeed in throwing out this illusion or maya, then weshall be aware of our divinity. The one who realises his true self isGod. The one who does not realise his true self and who is in theillusion of believing that he is something else than his true self, thathe has to get something sacred from the external world, will be en-tangled in great many difficulties"
"As a hungry street-dog, munching a bare bone, and tasting its own blood, might think the taste is in the bone, so do we assume that the pleasures that we enjoy are in the things that we seek and get hold of. It may be said that desire is the cause of our being exiled from the happiness that is within us, and its momentary cessation just allows us to taste a little of that happiness for the time being.""
[www.google.com]
One advantage of speaking in metaphors is that each listener can project whatever he or she wishes.
Metaphors - dry bones
Listeners project their own depths, their own meaning onto the metphor, and by doing so, taste themselves, thinking they are imbibing Amma's wisdom.
The hungry dog and dry bone analogy appears to be part of the Indian guru story telling trade.
These are standard tropes, cliches.
In a much earlier post, there is a description of these stories. Persons who are in ashrams will probably be as familiar with them as lullabies.
Snake and Rope story
[forum.culteducation.com]
Note here, Ammachi was quoted in this account as using a version of the snake and rope story. "THE TWO POWERS OF THE MIND
The mind has two powers: the veiling power and the power of projection. First, the mind veils the true nature of phenomenon, and then it misinterprets it. That is why Amma says that the mind is a liar. It covers the truth and makes us mistake the truth for something else.
A man was walking alone along a village path. It was getting dark and he was struggling to find his way in the dim light. Suddenly something bit him in the foot. He felt the area with his hand and discovered a small wound. He could also feel that it was bleeding. He suddenly froze when he saw a snake lying coiled in a bush next to him. He must have been bitten by the snake. The panic stricken man screamed at the top of his lungs "Help! I have been bitten by a poisonous snake! I'm going to die! Please, someone come and take me to a doctor!"
The man was hysterical. He called and he called. He was now beginning to feel terribly tired and his head was spinning as if he were about to faint. He sat on the ground and continued to call for help. Within a few minutes, a man appeared out of the dark. He was carrying a torch and asked "What is the matter? What happened?"
"I was bitten by a poisonous snake. I am dying. Can you take me to a doctor?"
"Don't worry, of course I will help you. But where exactly did it happen?" asked the stranger.
"Right here, on this very spot. Look at the bush, there's a snake there !!" replied the man.
The stranger turned his torch towards the bush, and what did he see? A thorn bush with a piece of rope entangled in it. The stranger said "Take a good look! It's a thorn bush. A thorn must have pricked your foot. The unfortunate thing was that you simultaneously saw the rope in the dim light and mistook it for a snake. Thus you were convinced that you had been bitten by a snake. But now you know the truth, you can calm down." Once the man realized the truth, all symptoms of tiredness and dizziness disappeared and he began to relax.
This is how the mind plays it's tricks on us.(unquote)
truthisone.info/docs/insights/am-mind-is-a-big-lie.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages
Clay Pot story
[forum.culteducation.com]
Flowers and Flowers in the Vase analogy
[forum.culteducation.com]
And unfortunately, will accept a mere analogy as an explanation or proof.
SUMMER SHOWERS IN BRINDAVAN. 1972. Discourses by. BHAGAVAN SRI
SATHYA SAI BABA
From a 1972 document Flowers in Brindaban - discourses by Satya Sai Baba. He quoted this yet presided over a social scene in which thousands were pathetically dependant upon him - and too many were molested.
"This is not correct. It is only when you are able toovercome this ignorance, it is only when you are able to throw awaythis illusion that there is something sacred which is coming fromoutside, then alone can you realise your own real nature
There is a small example for this. A dog got hold of a drybone and put it in its mouth with the intention of eating it. Howevermuch the dog tried to eat the dry bone, it was not able to get any es-sence or juice out of that. In its desire to get something out of thatdry bone, it bit hard with its teeth. The sharp portion of the dry bonecut into the soft mouth of the dog. Immediately, blood started flow-ing out of the mouth of the dog. The dog then thought that, at last,out of the bone was coming some juice, some blood, and it startedsucking its own blood with great pleasure.
The dog was not awarethe blood had come from within itself. When you look at this story,you will realise that we are also more or less in the same position. Solong as we remain in this ignorance, it means we are like dogs.If we succeed in throwing out this illusion or maya, then weshall be aware of our divinity. The one who realises his true self isGod. The one who does not realise his true self and who is in theillusion of believing that he is something else than his true self, thathe has to get something sacred from the external world, will be en-tangled in great many difficulties"
Sreeni Pattathanam and Paul Zakaria
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 04, 2014 11:37AM
Paul Zakaria
[webcache.googleusercontent.com]
Embezzling The World: PetitionsDec 14, 2013 ... The page calling Amma's follower to harass Paul Zakaria is not online anymore
but we have saved it before the cache version has been erased ...
embezzlingtheworld.blogspot.com/2013/12/petitions.html - 78k - Cached - Similar pages
Paul Zacharia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaPaul Zacharia (born 1945) is a Malayalam short story writer, novelist and essayist
. ... the 'hijacking' of religious figures such as Mata Amritanandamayi, has led to ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Zacharia - 36k - Cached - Similar pages
Paul Zakaria | FacebookPaul Zakaria is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Paul Zakaria and
others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the
...
[www.facebook.com] - 40k - Cached - Similar pages
Paul Zakaria - Saudi Arabia | LinkedInView Paul Zakaria's (Saudi Arabia) professional profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is
the world's largest business network, helping professionals like Paul Zakaria ...
sa.linkedin.com/pub/paul-zakaria/4b/816/9b1 - 43k - Cached - Similar pages
Zachariah on Mata Amritanandamayi - YouTube
... and social critic comments on the divinity of Mata Amritanandamayi. ... Interview with Paul ...
4 min -
[www.youtube.com]
The Lakshmi Of Our Times - Tehelka - The People's PaperJun 30, 2007 ... AMRITANANDAMAYI IS THE QUEEN OF ALL SHE SURVEYS IN KERALA, WITH
THE MEDIA DEEP IN HER POCKET. PAUL ZACHARIA.
www.tehelka.com/story_main31.asp?filename=Ne300607The... - 31k - Cached - Similar pages
Sreeni Pattathanam
Rise Of A God Woman And
The Right To Expression
By A Sidharth
18 March, 2004
countercurrents.org
The Kerala Chief Minister Mr. A. K. Antony is at it again. Antony, who had been toeing the Sangh Parivar line ever since he came to power has ordered the prosecution of Sreeni Pattathanam , author of the controversial book, "Matha Amruthananthamayi - Mysteries And Realities" on a God Woman, Matha Amruthananthamayi, who collected a huge number of followers in Kerala, all over India and abroad, including top government functionaries like Chief Ministers, Ministers, Governors, top bureaucrats and leading business persons. Mr.Sreeni Pattathanam is being prosecuted under section 295 A of the Indian Penal code. Section 295 A is the legal code providing protection against deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. To give this issue a sense of history, this is the first time in the history of independent India, an author is prosecuted under section 295 A of the Indian Penal code.
It would be interesting to find out why the Kerala Government is resorting to such an obscure rule, which, not even the infamous Narendra Modi government did not find fit to use in their crude definition of democracy.
Section 295 A is safeguards against "outraging of religious feelings". No one has ever heard of a religion founded by Amruthanantha Mayi. "Amruthanantha Mayi Math" is a charitable organisation registered under the charitable societies act. By the math's own admission, it is a non religious organisation where people of all religion are welcome. Moreover, a "Universal Mother" as Amruthanantha Mayi claims herself, cannot be the mother of a particular religion, cast or creed. in his zest to please the Math authorities and the large train of the militant Matha devotees , Antony has looked over all these obvious facts. In this election year, may be he is hoping to win the support of the RSS, who are the patrons of the Matha and the Math, which came under under cloud of suspision following the mysterious death of a string of devotees and the dubiousness of financial deals, including untraceable foreign funds. The RSS has found the Matha a prop to get its foot hold for Hindutwa politics, in a slippery Kerala political climate.
It was in 1933 that Section 295 A was last used . But the case was dismissed unfounded. Now, the author Sreeni Pattathanom who is also the general secretary of the Indian Rationalists Association,the publisher P.S. Kumar and the owner of the printing press S. Saji will be prosecuted under this obscure act.
To understand why A.K. Antony resorted to such an extreme step to please the Matha, her devotees, the Math and the RSS, we need to understand the phenomenon called Amruthanantha Mayi, her past and present, the political clout she (with her cronies) holds in Kerala society, and the political leanings and ambitions of Chief Minister Mr. A.K. Antony.
Matha Amruthananthamayi's real life name is Sudhamani. She was born in 1953, in the small village - Parayakadavu near Kollam to a family of fisher folks. She did not have much of an education to talk about as she dropped out in the primary school itself. At the age of 17 she went to a bhajan, and during bhajan the she broke into a frenzied dance claiming , she was Krishna . The next day she danced and said she was Kali (Durga). And that was the beginning of the journey of a young fisher woman on the path of universal Motherhood, that took her even to the UN general assembly where she addressed the world.
The Matha's growth was phenomenal. The little girl who danced to the small community of villagers grew virtually into an industry worth hundreds of crores of rupees. Politicians and bureaucrats poured in from all parts of the world and fell upon her feet. Donations flew from everywhere, and the political connections made sure that none of this was accounted for. Charity institutions and educational institutions sprouted all around the country in her name. It makes sense to spend a portion of money on charity!!!!! The charity worked as bait to rope in potential devotess. Those who need charity had to get certified by the net work of Amruthananthamayi Math branches sprouting in every nook and corner of Kerala. And the "Amma" had no shortage of devotees from a state economically ravaged by a failing agro economy, accentuated by the arrival of globalisation and stressed to the limits by a rampant consumerist lifestyle. People were ready to fall upon any shoulder that was offered to cry. And she had able managers to run the show exceptionally well. The "Universal Mother" was packaged and marketed using the latest management techniques.
The Matha's 50th birthday celebration in , "Amruthavarsham 2003", was a show of might. It was designed to show the world the reach and power of the Matha Amruthananda Mayi industry. The president and the Vice President of India, the Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and governors of several states, high court and supreme court judges and several high ranking bureaucrats, top businessmen and several artists attended the celebrations. The Jawaharalal Nehru International stadium in Kochi was rented several months in advance and the four day show was attended by as per the organisers claim by one lakh devotees everyday.
Sudhamani's growth to "Universal Motherhood" was not a smooth ride though. It was mired in deceit and violence. A path strewn with dead bodies as the law of the land and the state machinery looked away. Someone had to track down this path and count the bodies. This is exactly what Sreeni Pattathanam has done in his book. Mr. Sreeni diligently trace the trail of Amma and digs out the dead bodies. He reproduces the police records, FIRs, and press records which directly link the deaths of several adversaries and devotees with the Amritananthamayi Math. He records nine such deaths in this book including that of the Matha's elder brother who vehemently opposed the young Sudhamani's hysterical dances.
The book raises question marks against the conduct of the Matha's father Sugunananthan as well. The book brings out several incidents where Sugunanathan threatens to kill his adversaries, boasting that the law won't touch him as all the government functionaries are the devotees of his daughter.
Mr. Sreeni reproduces in the book a complaint filed to the Superintendent of Police, Kollam district by A.K. Manimallika, a former devotee of Amruthananthamayi. She was living with the Matha's parents and Sugunanathan approached her for sexual gratification, on being refused she was beaten up and thrown out of the ashram. In the complaint Manimallika accuses Sugunananthan of threatening to kill her by saying, " Even the Prime Minister , and the ministers come and fall upon the feet of my daughter. No one is going to raise a finger against us. Even if we kill you, no one is going to take action.(Page 139) In June, 1998 she filed a complaint to state women's commission as well, but no action was taken so far.
Mr. Sreeni, who is a rationalist himself, also tears apart the mysteries and miracles associated with the Matha. It is the nature of these kind of findings that have infuriated devotees of Matha, including Chief Minister Antony himself, who rushes off to hug the Matha whenever she comes visiting the state capital Trivandrum , or to goes off to her ashram at Vallikkavu whenever there is an election in the offing.
It is not the first time that the devotees of Matha turned against those who questioned her divinity and the misdeeds of her followers. Last year, eminent writer Paul Zakaria was issued a death threat for criticising the godliness of Amruthananthamayi.
The racket has virtually made the local media the kitchen servants of the Math, with a combination of collective bargaining, abuse and even threat. The news coverage received for "Amruthavarsham 2003" has to be seen to be believed. Almost all main stream papers brought out special supplements and editions to please the Math, television channel's devoted hours of airtime to show the gala affair. In a public show of arrogance one Swami tore away a leading daily, which he perceived was not up to his mark in coverage as all the scribes looked on. All this in a state known for its secular and literary traditions.
It is not just the issue of religious obscurantism associated with public celebration of magic and miracles, and the marketing of nirvana that is worrying us but the hijacking of such massive gatherings and sometimes innocent devotion of thousands of devotees by fascist forces. The "Amruthavarsham 2003" was a show run exclusively by RSS volunteers. It is not a secret that the Math is a brand by which the RSS is trying to market its Hindutwa in Kerala.
This book does not shed light into the secret society of Amruthananthamayi Math nor the financial empire which runs into hundreds of crones of rupees. This book also does not shed light on the flow of funds from inside the country and abroad.
The chief Minister A.K.Antony who became the darling of the Sangh Parivar by accusing the Minorities of the state of misusing their minority status to gain undue privileges found it a good opportunity to please the Hindutwa camp again, as another election is close at hand. But by doing so he is threatening the basic democratic values ingrained in our constitution. And in the process he has put Mr. Narendra Modi to shame.
[www.google.com]
----------------
Sreeni Pattathanam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaSreeni Pattathanam is a rationalist and atheist activist and writer from Kerala,
India. Pattathanam was born in Kollam, Kerala in India. Pattathanam was the
Editor ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sreeni_Pattathanam - 32k - Cached - Similar pages
Protect The Life Of Sreeni Pattathanam - Countercurrents.orgApr 4, 2004 ... Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam has written a book Matha Amritanandamayi: ... Penguin
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move earth and heaven to protect the life of sreeni pattathanamMr. Sreeni Pattathanam is a Malayalam writer who has ten books and many ...
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amma-taavi-kassila-sex-cover-up.blogspot.com/.../hugging-saint-amma-lying -beating-cheating.html.html - 176k - Cached - Similar pages
Image results for ammachi Sreeni Pattathanam
Cult Of The Hugging SaintAug 1, 2007 ... Amma Geddin' Outta Here: One visitors disturbing visit to Amma's ashram ...
Petition To Protect The Life Of Sreeni Pattathanam : Old petition ...
cultofthehuggingsaint4.blogspot.com/ - 30k - Cached - Similar pages
the amma asylum | never in torontoMay 21, 2012 ... 'Amma' commands an army of followers across the world, and in ... In 1985,
Sreeni Pattathanam wrote a book entitled Matha Amritanandamayi: ...
neverintoronto.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/the-amma-asylum/ - 50k - Cached - Similar pages
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her .... Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam the Kerala-based head of the Indian Rationalist ...
www.devotionaltantra.com/catalog/item/8226096/8930434.htm - 63k - Cached - Similar pages
Rituals of DisEnchantment: 40 Ways to Leave Your (Divine) LoverJan 10, 2013 ... I was nicknamed 'Amma's shadow' because I was constantly by her side and .....
her own dear brother by ex-policeman Sreeni Pattathanam
ritualsofdisenchantment.blogspot.com/.../40-ways-to-leave-your-divine-lover .html - 110k - Cached - Similar pages
Guruphiliac: Murders At Ammachi's Matt?Jan 31, 2007 ... Our recent posts on Ammachi's Imagegate have turned up some pretty ... At that
point, author Sreeni Pattathanam had to start worrying about ...
guruphiliac.blogspot.com/.../possible-murders-at-ammachis-matt.html - 38k - Cached - Similar pages
“Cult Of The Hugging Saint” Exposed - Feel Good GirlJul 11, 2009 ... So after my post here on Amma, these guys must have wasted not just hours but
days if not a week or more of .... the sreeni pattathanam case
www.feelgoodgirl.com/node/444 - 75k - Cached - Similar pages
[webcache.googleusercontent.com]
Embezzling The World: PetitionsDec 14, 2013 ... The page calling Amma's follower to harass Paul Zakaria is not online anymore
but we have saved it before the cache version has been erased ...
embezzlingtheworld.blogspot.com/2013/12/petitions.html - 78k - Cached - Similar pages
Paul Zacharia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaPaul Zacharia (born 1945) is a Malayalam short story writer, novelist and essayist
. ... the 'hijacking' of religious figures such as Mata Amritanandamayi, has led to ...
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Paul Zakaria | FacebookPaul Zakaria is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Paul Zakaria and
others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the
...
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Paul Zakaria - Saudi Arabia | LinkedInView Paul Zakaria's (Saudi Arabia) professional profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is
the world's largest business network, helping professionals like Paul Zakaria ...
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Zachariah on Mata Amritanandamayi - YouTube
... and social critic comments on the divinity of Mata Amritanandamayi. ... Interview with Paul ...
4 min -
[www.youtube.com]
The Lakshmi Of Our Times - Tehelka - The People's PaperJun 30, 2007 ... AMRITANANDAMAYI IS THE QUEEN OF ALL SHE SURVEYS IN KERALA, WITH
THE MEDIA DEEP IN HER POCKET. PAUL ZACHARIA.
www.tehelka.com/story_main31.asp?filename=Ne300607The... - 31k - Cached - Similar pages
Sreeni Pattathanam
Rise Of A God Woman And
The Right To Expression
By A Sidharth
18 March, 2004
countercurrents.org
The Kerala Chief Minister Mr. A. K. Antony is at it again. Antony, who had been toeing the Sangh Parivar line ever since he came to power has ordered the prosecution of Sreeni Pattathanam , author of the controversial book, "Matha Amruthananthamayi - Mysteries And Realities" on a God Woman, Matha Amruthananthamayi, who collected a huge number of followers in Kerala, all over India and abroad, including top government functionaries like Chief Ministers, Ministers, Governors, top bureaucrats and leading business persons. Mr.Sreeni Pattathanam is being prosecuted under section 295 A of the Indian Penal code. Section 295 A is the legal code providing protection against deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. To give this issue a sense of history, this is the first time in the history of independent India, an author is prosecuted under section 295 A of the Indian Penal code.
It would be interesting to find out why the Kerala Government is resorting to such an obscure rule, which, not even the infamous Narendra Modi government did not find fit to use in their crude definition of democracy.
Section 295 A is safeguards against "outraging of religious feelings". No one has ever heard of a religion founded by Amruthanantha Mayi. "Amruthanantha Mayi Math" is a charitable organisation registered under the charitable societies act. By the math's own admission, it is a non religious organisation where people of all religion are welcome. Moreover, a "Universal Mother" as Amruthanantha Mayi claims herself, cannot be the mother of a particular religion, cast or creed. in his zest to please the Math authorities and the large train of the militant Matha devotees , Antony has looked over all these obvious facts. In this election year, may be he is hoping to win the support of the RSS, who are the patrons of the Matha and the Math, which came under under cloud of suspision following the mysterious death of a string of devotees and the dubiousness of financial deals, including untraceable foreign funds. The RSS has found the Matha a prop to get its foot hold for Hindutwa politics, in a slippery Kerala political climate.
It was in 1933 that Section 295 A was last used . But the case was dismissed unfounded. Now, the author Sreeni Pattathanom who is also the general secretary of the Indian Rationalists Association,the publisher P.S. Kumar and the owner of the printing press S. Saji will be prosecuted under this obscure act.
To understand why A.K. Antony resorted to such an extreme step to please the Matha, her devotees, the Math and the RSS, we need to understand the phenomenon called Amruthanantha Mayi, her past and present, the political clout she (with her cronies) holds in Kerala society, and the political leanings and ambitions of Chief Minister Mr. A.K. Antony.
Matha Amruthananthamayi's real life name is Sudhamani. She was born in 1953, in the small village - Parayakadavu near Kollam to a family of fisher folks. She did not have much of an education to talk about as she dropped out in the primary school itself. At the age of 17 she went to a bhajan, and during bhajan the she broke into a frenzied dance claiming , she was Krishna . The next day she danced and said she was Kali (Durga). And that was the beginning of the journey of a young fisher woman on the path of universal Motherhood, that took her even to the UN general assembly where she addressed the world.
The Matha's growth was phenomenal. The little girl who danced to the small community of villagers grew virtually into an industry worth hundreds of crores of rupees. Politicians and bureaucrats poured in from all parts of the world and fell upon her feet. Donations flew from everywhere, and the political connections made sure that none of this was accounted for. Charity institutions and educational institutions sprouted all around the country in her name. It makes sense to spend a portion of money on charity!!!!! The charity worked as bait to rope in potential devotess. Those who need charity had to get certified by the net work of Amruthananthamayi Math branches sprouting in every nook and corner of Kerala. And the "Amma" had no shortage of devotees from a state economically ravaged by a failing agro economy, accentuated by the arrival of globalisation and stressed to the limits by a rampant consumerist lifestyle. People were ready to fall upon any shoulder that was offered to cry. And she had able managers to run the show exceptionally well. The "Universal Mother" was packaged and marketed using the latest management techniques.
The Matha's 50th birthday celebration in , "Amruthavarsham 2003", was a show of might. It was designed to show the world the reach and power of the Matha Amruthananda Mayi industry. The president and the Vice President of India, the Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and governors of several states, high court and supreme court judges and several high ranking bureaucrats, top businessmen and several artists attended the celebrations. The Jawaharalal Nehru International stadium in Kochi was rented several months in advance and the four day show was attended by as per the organisers claim by one lakh devotees everyday.
Sudhamani's growth to "Universal Motherhood" was not a smooth ride though. It was mired in deceit and violence. A path strewn with dead bodies as the law of the land and the state machinery looked away. Someone had to track down this path and count the bodies. This is exactly what Sreeni Pattathanam has done in his book. Mr. Sreeni diligently trace the trail of Amma and digs out the dead bodies. He reproduces the police records, FIRs, and press records which directly link the deaths of several adversaries and devotees with the Amritananthamayi Math. He records nine such deaths in this book including that of the Matha's elder brother who vehemently opposed the young Sudhamani's hysterical dances.
The book raises question marks against the conduct of the Matha's father Sugunananthan as well. The book brings out several incidents where Sugunanathan threatens to kill his adversaries, boasting that the law won't touch him as all the government functionaries are the devotees of his daughter.
Mr. Sreeni reproduces in the book a complaint filed to the Superintendent of Police, Kollam district by A.K. Manimallika, a former devotee of Amruthananthamayi. She was living with the Matha's parents and Sugunanathan approached her for sexual gratification, on being refused she was beaten up and thrown out of the ashram. In the complaint Manimallika accuses Sugunananthan of threatening to kill her by saying, " Even the Prime Minister , and the ministers come and fall upon the feet of my daughter. No one is going to raise a finger against us. Even if we kill you, no one is going to take action.(Page 139) In June, 1998 she filed a complaint to state women's commission as well, but no action was taken so far.
Mr. Sreeni, who is a rationalist himself, also tears apart the mysteries and miracles associated with the Matha. It is the nature of these kind of findings that have infuriated devotees of Matha, including Chief Minister Antony himself, who rushes off to hug the Matha whenever she comes visiting the state capital Trivandrum , or to goes off to her ashram at Vallikkavu whenever there is an election in the offing.
It is not the first time that the devotees of Matha turned against those who questioned her divinity and the misdeeds of her followers. Last year, eminent writer Paul Zakaria was issued a death threat for criticising the godliness of Amruthananthamayi.
The racket has virtually made the local media the kitchen servants of the Math, with a combination of collective bargaining, abuse and even threat. The news coverage received for "Amruthavarsham 2003" has to be seen to be believed. Almost all main stream papers brought out special supplements and editions to please the Math, television channel's devoted hours of airtime to show the gala affair. In a public show of arrogance one Swami tore away a leading daily, which he perceived was not up to his mark in coverage as all the scribes looked on. All this in a state known for its secular and literary traditions.
It is not just the issue of religious obscurantism associated with public celebration of magic and miracles, and the marketing of nirvana that is worrying us but the hijacking of such massive gatherings and sometimes innocent devotion of thousands of devotees by fascist forces. The "Amruthavarsham 2003" was a show run exclusively by RSS volunteers. It is not a secret that the Math is a brand by which the RSS is trying to market its Hindutwa in Kerala.
This book does not shed light into the secret society of Amruthananthamayi Math nor the financial empire which runs into hundreds of crones of rupees. This book also does not shed light on the flow of funds from inside the country and abroad.
The chief Minister A.K.Antony who became the darling of the Sangh Parivar by accusing the Minorities of the state of misusing their minority status to gain undue privileges found it a good opportunity to please the Hindutwa camp again, as another election is close at hand. But by doing so he is threatening the basic democratic values ingrained in our constitution. And in the process he has put Mr. Narendra Modi to shame.
[www.google.com]
----------------
Sreeni Pattathanam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaSreeni Pattathanam is a rationalist and atheist activist and writer from Kerala,
India. Pattathanam was born in Kollam, Kerala in India. Pattathanam was the
Editor ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sreeni_Pattathanam - 32k - Cached - Similar pages
Protect The Life Of Sreeni Pattathanam - Countercurrents.orgApr 4, 2004 ... Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam has written a book Matha Amritanandamayi: ... Penguin
India published her authorized biography (Amma, a Living ...
www.countercurrents.org/hr-pattathanam040404.htm - 32k - Cached - Similar pages
move earth and heaven to protect the life of sreeni pattathanamMr. Sreeni Pattathanam is a Malayalam writer who has ten books and many ...
Penguin India published her authorized biography (Amma, a Living Saint by ...
www.petitiononline.com/sreenidc/petition.html - 29k - Cached - Similar pages
"Hugging Saint" Amma's Lyings, Beatings and CheatingsAug 18, 2012 ... Amma got Kerala State Government to criminally prosecute Sreeni Pattathanam,
for writing "Matha Amritanandamayi: Sacred Stories and ...
amma-taavi-kassila-sex-cover-up.blogspot.com/.../hugging-saint-amma-lying -beating-cheating.html.html - 176k - Cached - Similar pages
Image results for ammachi Sreeni Pattathanam
Cult Of The Hugging SaintAug 1, 2007 ... Amma Geddin' Outta Here: One visitors disturbing visit to Amma's ashram ...
Petition To Protect The Life Of Sreeni Pattathanam : Old petition ...
cultofthehuggingsaint4.blogspot.com/ - 30k - Cached - Similar pages
the amma asylum | never in torontoMay 21, 2012 ... 'Amma' commands an army of followers across the world, and in ... In 1985,
Sreeni Pattathanam wrote a book entitled Matha Amritanandamayi: ...
neverintoronto.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/the-amma-asylum/ - 50k - Cached - Similar pages
Ammachi - Devotional Tantra“For Amma, removing the sorrows of others is as natural as drying the tears from
her .... Mr. Sreeni Pattathanam the Kerala-based head of the Indian Rationalist ...
www.devotionaltantra.com/catalog/item/8226096/8930434.htm - 63k - Cached - Similar pages
Rituals of DisEnchantment: 40 Ways to Leave Your (Divine) LoverJan 10, 2013 ... I was nicknamed 'Amma's shadow' because I was constantly by her side and .....
her own dear brother by ex-policeman Sreeni Pattathanam
ritualsofdisenchantment.blogspot.com/.../40-ways-to-leave-your-divine-lover .html - 110k - Cached - Similar pages
Guruphiliac: Murders At Ammachi's Matt?Jan 31, 2007 ... Our recent posts on Ammachi's Imagegate have turned up some pretty ... At that
point, author Sreeni Pattathanam had to start worrying about ...
guruphiliac.blogspot.com/.../possible-murders-at-ammachis-matt.html - 38k - Cached - Similar pages
“Cult Of The Hugging Saint” Exposed - Feel Good GirlJul 11, 2009 ... So after my post here on Amma, these guys must have wasted not just hours but
days if not a week or more of .... the sreeni pattathanam case
www.feelgoodgirl.com/node/444 - 75k - Cached - Similar pages
Another independant blog covering Ammachi
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 05, 2014 11:36PM
(Disclaimer: This is not to imply that Corboy or Cult Education Institute agrees with or endorses content of quoted blogs or websites. Testimony in praise of Ammachi is readily available.
Persons who want only an adulatory viewpoint of Ammachi can find these easily.
In comparison, discussions of Ammachi that fall into the non adulatory catagory are relatively rare.
So to assist interested readers who want a **variety** of viewpoints, Corboy lists citations of the latter kind.
Embezzling The World1 day ago ... Since the publication of Gail Tredwell's book, Amma's PR team has lauched a
smear campaign against her. They have invented various ...
embezzlingtheworld.blogspot.com/ - 107k - Cached - Similar pages
Embezzling The World: December 2013Dec 29, 2013 ... We believe that Indian guru Mata Amritanandamayi known as the ... In her book
Holy Hell, Gail Tredwell writes that Amritanandamayi eats fish ...
embezzlingtheworld.blogspot.com/2013_12_01_archive.html - 153k - Cached - Similar pages
Persons who want only an adulatory viewpoint of Ammachi can find these easily.
In comparison, discussions of Ammachi that fall into the non adulatory catagory are relatively rare.
So to assist interested readers who want a **variety** of viewpoints, Corboy lists citations of the latter kind.
Embezzling The World1 day ago ... Since the publication of Gail Tredwell's book, Amma's PR team has lauched a
smear campaign against her. They have invented various ...
embezzlingtheworld.blogspot.com/ - 107k - Cached - Similar pages
Embezzling The World: December 2013Dec 29, 2013 ... We believe that Indian guru Mata Amritanandamayi known as the ... In her book
Holy Hell, Gail Tredwell writes that Amritanandamayi eats fish ...
embezzlingtheworld.blogspot.com/2013_12_01_archive.html - 153k - Cached - Similar pages
Yahoo discussion group
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 05, 2014 11:39PM
Back - Yahoo Groups1. post. Oct 28, 2013. Electronic version of Gail Tredwell's book about Amma now
availa .... Legal threats and other crapola from Ammabots. (2). Very interesting ...
groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Ammachi-Real-Free.../topics - 67k - Cached - Similar pages
availa .... Legal threats and other crapola from Ammabots. (2). Very interesting ...
groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Ammachi-Real-Free.../topics - 67k - Cached - Similar pages
Going Green
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 06, 2014 07:58AM
AMMA DITCHES CALIFORNIA DEVOTEES FOR U.N. FAME OPPORTUNITY
Many Amma devotees on the West Coast of the U.S.A. were disappointed that there would be no visit by Amma to her San Ramon ashram this coming US winter tour.
This is what is now on the North America Amma website:
"This week, she formally accepted an invitation to a private U.N. conference taking place at the end of this month. After the Michigan programs, she will be traveling to the conference."
So basically what they are saying is that she ditched the devotees on the West coast of the USA because a better offer came up - one which appealed more on her quest for fame and public recognition.
I hope she doesn't regale them with too many dog and donkey village parables like she did to the the journalist who wrote this article:)
I assume the importance of this event also is that this will generate another round of propaganda films to reinvigorate her image after the publicity disasters of 2012.
The launch of her latest environmental campaign which coincided with the big propaganda fest which was her birthday - "InDeed" - states that it has been officially recognized by UNESCO as a project of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. So this is probably what the big meeting is about.
Talk about jumping on the Green bandwagon!
After the world has now been talking about global warming for decades Amma has come up with 6 things we can do: Conserve water; Reduce your carbon footprint; Plant a tree; Grow your own vegies; Carpool; Build a house for birds or bugs. Ok the last one is fairly unique but hullo, in the country where I live we already have water restrictions linked to payment via water meters, a carbon tax, fast lanes on freeways for car poolers, tree planting programs. All this legislated by a fairly conservative government. I was writing policy documents re this sort of stuff in 1995!! when I was in the Green Party. Was recycling, growing my own vegies, not owning a car, conserving water, planting trees and even putting up nesting boxes for possums, birds and bats in my yard since the early 90s! And NOW Amma has just discovered all these things and is announcing her big plan to the world!
Meanwhile the BIG issue of Amma polluting the backwaters at her India ashram for decades via the sewage pipe still has not been resolved. Possibly she does not see this as an issue as it does not contribute to global warming?? Has been flushing untreated raw sewerage, hormones and heavy metals into the local water systems now since the 1980s, just upstream from all those picturesque Keralan chinese style fishing nets we see on all the postcards!
I mean if she was such a huge freaking environmentalist she would have used her millions of $$$s and installed a state of the art sewage treatment plant wouldn't she!
Like Sri Chinmoy Amma is another U.N. chasing guru. Sri Chinmoy was so fixated with receiving accolades from the U.N. that he even had his devotees employed at the New York headquarters building to try and create influence for himself.
What is it with these gurus that they seek constant affirmation and accolades from such international organisations? Because as we all know recognition from the U.N. does not just come from nowhere. It usually occurs as the result of years of lobbying from the supporters of these public figures.
I'm surprised, India being in the British Commonwealth, that Amma hasn't sucked up the Queen to get some recognition. I'd better not mention this, it may put an idea in her head:):)
I don't think I am being too cynical in believing that Amma's newly found environmental conscience and her InDeed campaign is yet another means to pull in more donation $$$s.
Possibly someone should write to UNESCO and inform them that she may have a 6 point Plan but she is also a major polluter of the back water systems of Kerala at her local village and as such is contributing to the incidence of water borne diseases, heavy metal pollution and high hormone concentrations in fish! Hardly an environmentalist worthy of U.N. recognition!
Adriana Auderset
•a year ago
Many Amma devotees on the West Coast of the U.S.A. were disappointed that there would be no visit by Amma to her San Ramon ashram this coming US winter tour.
This is what is now on the North America Amma website:
"This week, she formally accepted an invitation to a private U.N. conference taking place at the end of this month. After the Michigan programs, she will be traveling to the conference."
So basically what they are saying is that she ditched the devotees on the West coast of the USA because a better offer came up - one which appealed more on her quest for fame and public recognition.
I hope she doesn't regale them with too many dog and donkey village parables like she did to the the journalist who wrote this article:)
I assume the importance of this event also is that this will generate another round of propaganda films to reinvigorate her image after the publicity disasters of 2012.
The launch of her latest environmental campaign which coincided with the big propaganda fest which was her birthday - "InDeed" - states that it has been officially recognized by UNESCO as a project of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. So this is probably what the big meeting is about.
Talk about jumping on the Green bandwagon!
After the world has now been talking about global warming for decades Amma has come up with 6 things we can do: Conserve water; Reduce your carbon footprint; Plant a tree; Grow your own vegies; Carpool; Build a house for birds or bugs. Ok the last one is fairly unique but hullo, in the country where I live we already have water restrictions linked to payment via water meters, a carbon tax, fast lanes on freeways for car poolers, tree planting programs. All this legislated by a fairly conservative government. I was writing policy documents re this sort of stuff in 1995!! when I was in the Green Party. Was recycling, growing my own vegies, not owning a car, conserving water, planting trees and even putting up nesting boxes for possums, birds and bats in my yard since the early 90s! And NOW Amma has just discovered all these things and is announcing her big plan to the world!
Meanwhile the BIG issue of Amma polluting the backwaters at her India ashram for decades via the sewage pipe still has not been resolved. Possibly she does not see this as an issue as it does not contribute to global warming?? Has been flushing untreated raw sewerage, hormones and heavy metals into the local water systems now since the 1980s, just upstream from all those picturesque Keralan chinese style fishing nets we see on all the postcards!
I mean if she was such a huge freaking environmentalist she would have used her millions of $$$s and installed a state of the art sewage treatment plant wouldn't she!
Like Sri Chinmoy Amma is another U.N. chasing guru. Sri Chinmoy was so fixated with receiving accolades from the U.N. that he even had his devotees employed at the New York headquarters building to try and create influence for himself.
What is it with these gurus that they seek constant affirmation and accolades from such international organisations? Because as we all know recognition from the U.N. does not just come from nowhere. It usually occurs as the result of years of lobbying from the supporters of these public figures.
I'm surprised, India being in the British Commonwealth, that Amma hasn't sucked up the Queen to get some recognition. I'd better not mention this, it may put an idea in her head:):)
I don't think I am being too cynical in believing that Amma's newly found environmental conscience and her InDeed campaign is yet another means to pull in more donation $$$s.
Possibly someone should write to UNESCO and inform them that she may have a 6 point Plan but she is also a major polluter of the back water systems of Kerala at her local village and as such is contributing to the incidence of water borne diseases, heavy metal pollution and high hormone concentrations in fish! Hardly an environmentalist worthy of U.N. recognition!
Adriana Auderset
•a year ago
From Gail Tredwell's blog some comments
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 11, 2014 05:20AM
[gailtredwell.com]
Destroyed FamilyNovember 20, 2013, 4:33 am
We have both just finished reading your book and want to tell you how impressed we are with it. It is as beautifully written as it is compelling.
The events you describe are almost incredible and yet we both felt ourselves believing every word. It is honest and brave. It certainly puts the Amma Organisation in a totally different light from that portrayed in the media, which seems to be completely in thrall to her PR machine.
Your book was a very important read for us as our daughter has been deeply affected by the Amma cult and is all but lost to us as a consequence. Her story has many parallels with your own and it is a source of comfort to us to know that your story has, at last, a happy ending.
Up until 5 years ago we were a very close family. Then our daughter left for India looking, like you, for a spiritual experience. She went to Amma’s ashram in Kerala and for the last 5 years has visited Amma whenever possible – in San Ramon , in Kerala and in London. She went through a “marriage ceremony” in London with an Amma devotee she met in the ashram in Kerala. For this we know that she paid 1008 euros in cash.
Since then she has progressively given up on family, friends and her career. We thought all along that this was just a money obsessed cult and now we know for sure that it is.
We felt very much for your poor parents in this as this is the position we are in. We don’t know what to do or say to bring her back to us. If only we could get her to read your book!
We are very glad that you made it back to real life Gail. Your book is a tremendous achievement. It inspires us with hope that one day our daughter might realise that she is on the wrong path. We just hope it doesn’t take her 20 years.
.
ReplyLink
JinpaNovember 20, 2013, 8:28 pm
Dear Gail
I remember you on the Australian visits, always white faced with dark circles under your eyes, always there, always willing, putting yourself entirely at service.
I rejoice for you that you have found freedom and peace of mind.
Many comforting experiences came from Amma’s visits, but at what cost we could not have imagined at the time.
I have followed several teachers and committed with devotion and much sacrifice over many years and many disappointments, to understand in the end that it is only the heart of loving kindness and compassion that will prevail.
.
ReplyLink
ItWasASlowJourneyNovember 26, 2013, 3:30 pm
I love this comment, thank you.
.
ReplyLink
GiamNovember 24, 2013, 3:36 pm
Hello Gail,
It is with much sadness that I read this book. I first meet amma in 1989 in Kerala, she showered me with much love and attention – and I was hooked. I have no regrets about my 20 year association with amma; there were countless special moments that I can’t deny. My gapping need to be loved and acknowledged was met.
For many years I believed that ‘enlightened’ teachers were somehow transcended beings. My erroneous ideas were continually perpetuated by teachers themselves, (Hindu) cultural and religious beliefs, and my own unquestioned assumptions, rationalisations and needs. Twenty three years later, I sense that ALL teachers have feet of clay. Regardless of their ‘attainments’ their shadow sides don’t just disappear, there still there because they remain human.
Gail, a huge thank you to you for eventually finding the courage to write this book, and for your searing honesty.
.
ReplyLink
ItWasASlowJourneyNovember 26, 2013, 3:32 pm
Gail, I’ve just started reading and it’s a riveting story. So much resonates with me and my own journey with another teacher. Thank you!
.
ReplyLink
ItWasASlowJourneyNovember 26, 2013, 3:34 pm
I should have added, it’s great to see you looking so healthy now in your blog photo. Rock on!
.
ReplyLink
PeterNovember 27, 2013, 12:40 am
Reading your book after a 20 year connection with the organization I can only say that in my heart I just believe that
you are very honest and brave. The reactions on the “amma scandal” site are just that : scandalous. I can not imagine that it is orchestrated without Amma’s knowledge. Spirituality is not about becoming part of a beehive and being a servant of a queen bee. (The beehive psychology is something to look into)
But it is about becoming fully human, a free and loving being in the peace of our heart. Thank you for your contribution to just that.
krishnanJanuary 2, 2014, 5:24 am
I am an ex-devotee of this Amma. I remember you and spoke to you in ashram. Now her ashram is a corporate business organization in the name of spiritualism. In the name of social service, having own medical college, university in her name and selling medical admission seats. But God will made us realize the trust. i am happy you are safe, they don’t dare to kill you, I am so proud of you! You show the courage to publish the trust to the world. I am sure there are many people like you who are suffering silently in the ashram. I can’t wait to read your book. I came to know that ashram people are trying to band this book publication in India.
.
ReplyLink
feliceJanuary 15, 2014, 1:43 am
The physical condition of Amma’s longtime residents is pitiable. Free time for contemplation is hard to come by for those engaged in seva. The abuses, physical and mental, the kindest ones take from her are rationalized as mystical steps to enlightenment. She lets residents spend their own money in providing services for the sick and injured creatures at the ashram, and doesn’t give anything to domestic animal or wildlife causes, locally or internationally. Her elephants are in chains, confined to small areas and have been relocated from public view. Even the hospital at the ashram is a very underfunded, crowded, and unhealthy disgrace. These things are not glamorous charitable work or income producers. She is said to know “everything” as the Mother of the World but asks basic questions and makes many mistakes in judgment, which devotees deny are unintentional. Yes, miracles happen around her but great misery also continues, justified as what needs to happen for spiritual “growth.” Better to invest in the guru within
EKFebruary 2, 2014, 3:01 pm
I have purchased a hardcopy edition of your book.
Am waiting to read it, fearing I will be upset. I live in an area that is full of Amma promotion. Two Amma affliated businesses are in my home neighborhood, and San Ramon is just an hour to an hour and a half distant via the freeway.
Over the years, I would see the Ammachi booth at the Himalayan Fair in Berkeley. The Amma devotees mostly had a hard eyed hungry look, as though needing to confirm their commitment by hooking in new recruits.
My former therapist hinted at how good it would be for me to go get a hug from Amma.
Makes me sick to learn how egregiously she and her organization consume and grind people up.
This kind of neediness is, in my opinion, process addiction, little different from gambling.
Hard core gamblers surround themselves with their own kind in specialized environments (casinos) that block out distractions from anything other than gambling, or maintain by going to gambling websites. Casinos are a lot like ashrams – they block out family, non gambler friends, attract with cheap meals and hotel accommodation and surround with cues to keep gambling.
In guru addiction, the specialized environment is the ashram — and guru junkie social scene that supports it.
And those who dare to tell the truth about the business model and abusiveness of the Guru Industry are hated by those who want to continue romanticising the addiction.
Unlike the guru addicts, gamblers dont rationalize it in the name of love or God, though they may rationalize what they are doing as proof that they are brave, cool and that risk averse people are cowards.
Finally, here are commonplace replies by guru addicts to those who refuse to validate the addiction
You are not a devotee, you are an outsider, go away.
Reply: I am a US taxpayer, Amma is not and my taxes pay for the infra structure taht supports her ashram.
*Anyone who sees merit in gurus is inherantly better and more evolved as a human being than those who are skeptical or who have given up on gurus.
*Even bad guru set ups teach us valuable lessons – how dare you bitch about this?
*If you dare criticise gurus, you’re being handicapped by your Westernized modern mind and ego (Which doesnt keep Amma from benefitting from Western trained accountants, PR consultants, use of computers designed by western engineering
* You’re a cynic
*You’re a ‘hater’
*Analytic thought or education hampers ability to see Amma’s excellence (Ignores that Amma hires lots of analytical thinkers to count the money, invest the money, do the PR campaigns, do the lawyering, etc Gurus can employ analytical thinking but we are forbidden to do so.)
* You hate or do not understand Indian culture and spirituality
*If you are not Indian you have no right to criticise Indian culture and spirituality
*If you are Indian and Hindu, and even if you are from Kerela, if you criticise Amma, you are a pathetic specimen who has disowned the glorious spiriutal heritage of your nation
*You are not yourself enlightened and have no right to criticise
*Amma does all this good cause work. So what if she gives only a little, its better than if she were not around at all.
*So what if many of Amma’s followers are crazy, cruel, dependant? They’d have been worse off if they’d never met Amma.
.
ReplyLink
Babu CalFebruary 8, 2014, 7:25 pm
After my two sisters are entrapped by this blood and money sucking cult, I knew years ago that the true story would come out one day. Thank you for your courage to bring this out to the world. It is time authorities in India investigate these cults and prosecute the wrong doers. I would encourage Indians in India and abroad to task the Government to do something about these age old malaise that has hampered India’s progress. Hinduism was never meant to be preached. If you are looking for a true Guru you will not find one. If your Guru in India is heading out first class to hug people all over the world it’s to bring back $10,000,000 after every US tour. Good business by any enterprise standard, you however will loose your soul and your precious hard-earned dollars.
Destroyed FamilyNovember 20, 2013, 4:33 am
We have both just finished reading your book and want to tell you how impressed we are with it. It is as beautifully written as it is compelling.
The events you describe are almost incredible and yet we both felt ourselves believing every word. It is honest and brave. It certainly puts the Amma Organisation in a totally different light from that portrayed in the media, which seems to be completely in thrall to her PR machine.
Your book was a very important read for us as our daughter has been deeply affected by the Amma cult and is all but lost to us as a consequence. Her story has many parallels with your own and it is a source of comfort to us to know that your story has, at last, a happy ending.
Up until 5 years ago we were a very close family. Then our daughter left for India looking, like you, for a spiritual experience. She went to Amma’s ashram in Kerala and for the last 5 years has visited Amma whenever possible – in San Ramon , in Kerala and in London. She went through a “marriage ceremony” in London with an Amma devotee she met in the ashram in Kerala. For this we know that she paid 1008 euros in cash.
Since then she has progressively given up on family, friends and her career. We thought all along that this was just a money obsessed cult and now we know for sure that it is.
We felt very much for your poor parents in this as this is the position we are in. We don’t know what to do or say to bring her back to us. If only we could get her to read your book!
We are very glad that you made it back to real life Gail. Your book is a tremendous achievement. It inspires us with hope that one day our daughter might realise that she is on the wrong path. We just hope it doesn’t take her 20 years.
.
ReplyLink
JinpaNovember 20, 2013, 8:28 pm
Dear Gail
I remember you on the Australian visits, always white faced with dark circles under your eyes, always there, always willing, putting yourself entirely at service.
I rejoice for you that you have found freedom and peace of mind.
Many comforting experiences came from Amma’s visits, but at what cost we could not have imagined at the time.
I have followed several teachers and committed with devotion and much sacrifice over many years and many disappointments, to understand in the end that it is only the heart of loving kindness and compassion that will prevail.
.
ReplyLink
ItWasASlowJourneyNovember 26, 2013, 3:30 pm
I love this comment, thank you.
.
ReplyLink
GiamNovember 24, 2013, 3:36 pm
Hello Gail,
It is with much sadness that I read this book. I first meet amma in 1989 in Kerala, she showered me with much love and attention – and I was hooked. I have no regrets about my 20 year association with amma; there were countless special moments that I can’t deny. My gapping need to be loved and acknowledged was met.
For many years I believed that ‘enlightened’ teachers were somehow transcended beings. My erroneous ideas were continually perpetuated by teachers themselves, (Hindu) cultural and religious beliefs, and my own unquestioned assumptions, rationalisations and needs. Twenty three years later, I sense that ALL teachers have feet of clay. Regardless of their ‘attainments’ their shadow sides don’t just disappear, there still there because they remain human.
Gail, a huge thank you to you for eventually finding the courage to write this book, and for your searing honesty.
.
ReplyLink
ItWasASlowJourneyNovember 26, 2013, 3:32 pm
Gail, I’ve just started reading and it’s a riveting story. So much resonates with me and my own journey with another teacher. Thank you!
.
ReplyLink
ItWasASlowJourneyNovember 26, 2013, 3:34 pm
I should have added, it’s great to see you looking so healthy now in your blog photo. Rock on!
.
ReplyLink
PeterNovember 27, 2013, 12:40 am
Reading your book after a 20 year connection with the organization I can only say that in my heart I just believe that
you are very honest and brave. The reactions on the “amma scandal” site are just that : scandalous. I can not imagine that it is orchestrated without Amma’s knowledge. Spirituality is not about becoming part of a beehive and being a servant of a queen bee. (The beehive psychology is something to look into)
But it is about becoming fully human, a free and loving being in the peace of our heart. Thank you for your contribution to just that.
krishnanJanuary 2, 2014, 5:24 am
I am an ex-devotee of this Amma. I remember you and spoke to you in ashram. Now her ashram is a corporate business organization in the name of spiritualism. In the name of social service, having own medical college, university in her name and selling medical admission seats. But God will made us realize the trust. i am happy you are safe, they don’t dare to kill you, I am so proud of you! You show the courage to publish the trust to the world. I am sure there are many people like you who are suffering silently in the ashram. I can’t wait to read your book. I came to know that ashram people are trying to band this book publication in India.
.
ReplyLink
feliceJanuary 15, 2014, 1:43 am
The physical condition of Amma’s longtime residents is pitiable. Free time for contemplation is hard to come by for those engaged in seva. The abuses, physical and mental, the kindest ones take from her are rationalized as mystical steps to enlightenment. She lets residents spend their own money in providing services for the sick and injured creatures at the ashram, and doesn’t give anything to domestic animal or wildlife causes, locally or internationally. Her elephants are in chains, confined to small areas and have been relocated from public view. Even the hospital at the ashram is a very underfunded, crowded, and unhealthy disgrace. These things are not glamorous charitable work or income producers. She is said to know “everything” as the Mother of the World but asks basic questions and makes many mistakes in judgment, which devotees deny are unintentional. Yes, miracles happen around her but great misery also continues, justified as what needs to happen for spiritual “growth.” Better to invest in the guru within
EKFebruary 2, 2014, 3:01 pm
I have purchased a hardcopy edition of your book.
Am waiting to read it, fearing I will be upset. I live in an area that is full of Amma promotion. Two Amma affliated businesses are in my home neighborhood, and San Ramon is just an hour to an hour and a half distant via the freeway.
Over the years, I would see the Ammachi booth at the Himalayan Fair in Berkeley. The Amma devotees mostly had a hard eyed hungry look, as though needing to confirm their commitment by hooking in new recruits.
My former therapist hinted at how good it would be for me to go get a hug from Amma.
Makes me sick to learn how egregiously she and her organization consume and grind people up.
This kind of neediness is, in my opinion, process addiction, little different from gambling.
Hard core gamblers surround themselves with their own kind in specialized environments (casinos) that block out distractions from anything other than gambling, or maintain by going to gambling websites. Casinos are a lot like ashrams – they block out family, non gambler friends, attract with cheap meals and hotel accommodation and surround with cues to keep gambling.
In guru addiction, the specialized environment is the ashram — and guru junkie social scene that supports it.
And those who dare to tell the truth about the business model and abusiveness of the Guru Industry are hated by those who want to continue romanticising the addiction.
Unlike the guru addicts, gamblers dont rationalize it in the name of love or God, though they may rationalize what they are doing as proof that they are brave, cool and that risk averse people are cowards.
Finally, here are commonplace replies by guru addicts to those who refuse to validate the addiction
You are not a devotee, you are an outsider, go away.
Reply: I am a US taxpayer, Amma is not and my taxes pay for the infra structure taht supports her ashram.
*Anyone who sees merit in gurus is inherantly better and more evolved as a human being than those who are skeptical or who have given up on gurus.
*Even bad guru set ups teach us valuable lessons – how dare you bitch about this?
*If you dare criticise gurus, you’re being handicapped by your Westernized modern mind and ego (Which doesnt keep Amma from benefitting from Western trained accountants, PR consultants, use of computers designed by western engineering
* You’re a cynic
*You’re a ‘hater’
*Analytic thought or education hampers ability to see Amma’s excellence (Ignores that Amma hires lots of analytical thinkers to count the money, invest the money, do the PR campaigns, do the lawyering, etc Gurus can employ analytical thinking but we are forbidden to do so.)
* You hate or do not understand Indian culture and spirituality
*If you are not Indian you have no right to criticise Indian culture and spirituality
*If you are Indian and Hindu, and even if you are from Kerela, if you criticise Amma, you are a pathetic specimen who has disowned the glorious spiriutal heritage of your nation
*You are not yourself enlightened and have no right to criticise
*Amma does all this good cause work. So what if she gives only a little, its better than if she were not around at all.
*So what if many of Amma’s followers are crazy, cruel, dependant? They’d have been worse off if they’d never met Amma.
.
ReplyLink
Babu CalFebruary 8, 2014, 7:25 pm
After my two sisters are entrapped by this blood and money sucking cult, I knew years ago that the true story would come out one day. Thank you for your courage to bring this out to the world. It is time authorities in India investigate these cults and prosecute the wrong doers. I would encourage Indians in India and abroad to task the Government to do something about these age old malaise that has hampered India’s progress. Hinduism was never meant to be preached. If you are looking for a true Guru you will not find one. If your Guru in India is heading out first class to hug people all over the world it’s to bring back $10,000,000 after every US tour. Good business by any enterprise standard, you however will loose your soul and your precious hard-earned dollars.
Amma discussion on India Mike Travel
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 11, 2014 08:03AM
[www.indiamike.com]
Add another all purpose excuse:
"There are always nay sayers."
But someone else wrote this.
"A tax on stupid people is not all bad - unless we are our brother's keeper."
Add another all purpose excuse:
"There are always nay sayers."
But someone else wrote this.
"A tax on stupid people is not all bad - unless we are our brother's keeper."
Indias Superstition Industry - Political, Police Collusion Context
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 12, 2014 06:27AM
To understand how gurus and ashrams operate in a culture of impunity, this article is of the utmost importance.
[forum.culteducation.com]
Tourists who go to India to support and participate in cash rich, highly populated guru 'scenes' are contributing to a situation that is corrupting and weakening what is left of civil society in India.
In India crowds and floods of money are inseparable from political patronage and corruption of police and business interests.
Land near tourist sexy ashrams becomes lucrative real estate and attracts speculation.
This in turn fucks up the lives of the ordinary persons living there.
What price bliss, friends?
Tourists enjoy the crowd 'scene' but get to leave when they feel like it.
The persons who live day in and day out near the ashram have their lives disrupted.
Think about what is happening to **them**
[forum.culteducation.com]
Tourists who go to India to support and participate in cash rich, highly populated guru 'scenes' are contributing to a situation that is corrupting and weakening what is left of civil society in India.
In India crowds and floods of money are inseparable from political patronage and corruption of police and business interests.
Land near tourist sexy ashrams becomes lucrative real estate and attracts speculation.
This in turn fucks up the lives of the ordinary persons living there.
What price bliss, friends?
Tourists enjoy the crowd 'scene' but get to leave when they feel like it.
The persons who live day in and day out near the ashram have their lives disrupted.
Think about what is happening to **them**
From Silicon India - online newspaper
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 13, 2014 12:40AM
A call for accountability from a magazine serving the Indian IT industry.
Note the variety of perspectives in the comments section - Corboy
This is Google's cache of [www.siliconindia.com]. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Feb 10, 2014 13:36:19 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime.
Current page
[www.siliconindia.com]
Indian Spiritual Gurus and Their Empire of Wealth
By SiliconIndia | Thursday, 25 July 2013, 00:29 Hrs | 6 Comments
Bangalore: Over the years many Indian ‘gurus’ have been accused and being exposed. Indian culture has great amount of spiritual beliefs imbibed into it and many fake gurus tend to take advantage of it and exploit the common people. Some of these religious gurus are among the biggest money minters in the country.
One of the most famed gurus of India, Baba Ramdev runs a multi-crore empire, possesses a Scottish island and has an estimated wealth of $202,503,000. Read on to know few of the multi millionaire Indian gurus who are making it big bucks.
Mata Amritanandamayi
Estimated net worth: $273,257,000
Sudhamani Idamannel, also known as Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and Amma ("Mother"), the Hindu spiritual leader and teacher is famous as the “The Hugging Saint”. She has hugged close to 30 million people to date, she is widely respected for her humanitarian activities and is probably by far the richest godwoman in the country.
Controversies:
The Kerala-based writer and head of the Indian Rationalist Association, Sreeni Pattathanam wrote the book Matha Amritanandamayi: Sacred Stories and Realities, a controversial critique first published in 1985. The author reportedly claimed that miracles of Amritanandamayi are fake and bogus and there also have been many deaths around Amritanandamayi’s ashrams that are suspicious.
In June 2007, Shantanu Guha Ray wrote on Tehelka weekly that Amritanandamayi Math had large annual turnover of INR crores. In June 2007, novelist Paul Zacharia wrote on Tehelka that Amritanandamayi goes scotfree from scrutinies on money with foreign
Reader's comments(6)
1: THIS ARTICLE AND THESE TYPE OF ARTICLES ARE ALL BOGUS. YOU DON'T EXPOSE MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN GURUS. YOU DON'T EXPOSE CORPORATES,BOLLYWOOD ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. IT SEEMS THAT YOUR ENTERPRISE IS RUN BY AL QUIDA OR ISI. EVERYBODY KNOWS DAOOD INVESTMENTS IN INDIAN FILMS, HE COULD BE INVESTING IN YOUR ENTERPRISE AS WELL TO INSULT HINDUISM.
Posted by:rocket singh - 03 Sep, 2013
Reply Report abuse
2: There must be strict enquiries on the wealth acquired by these god-men and god-women and the source of crores of rupees especially from outside the country. Under the label of spirituality there must be exploration into what these huge cash flow and revenues are being spent for. A small portion of the wealth and revenue being spent for humanitarian labels, can't justify the multiples of those amounts being used for obscure purposes! Unfortunately authorities are purposefully negleting such demands.
Posted by:Shan - 29 Aug, 2013
Reply Report abuse
3: why don't you write on ISKON
Posted by:kondalaxmanbabu - 26 Aug, 2013
Reply Report abuse
4: i srongly believe baba ramdev,i suggest the authour to cpmment on any person carefully or public will throw this kind of news agencies.
Posted by:kondalaxmanbabu - 26 Aug, 2013
Reply Report abuse
5: Another example of SiliconIndia's poor journalism. Tehelka's (stooge of CONgressi looters) investigative journalism as a basis for this article exposes the hollowness in the whole article. e.g. Baba Ramdev's tax evasion issue was purely politically motivated as he led the aggressive campaign for bringing black money. So far, neither UPA appointed IT officers couldn't incriminate him as his organization maintains all the records and transactions are transparent. He is crusading against corrupt Pharma industries by reviving India's ancient Ayurveda. He has been running several charities for improving the health of people of India. Could anyone organize without money at national level?
Yet, these paid-Sickular media cannot expose lakhs of crores of black money owned by our rogue politicians from fake Gandhi family to rogue Karunanidhi's family.
Posted by:Pal - 17 Aug, 2013
Reply Report abuse
6: It looks like the author never ever had visited the ashram or ahve received the 'so called' hug from her.
One who has ever received her hug can never write such a hollow article on Amma.
Till now 35 million people have received amma's hug. This includes doctors, engineer's, Harvard and MIT passouts, Scientists and many more. Please do the effort of asking anyone of them about her.
This effort is the least thing one can do before writing an article.
Please don't be a parrot or tape recorder that reads and spaeks. have the confidence of going out in the field and then to write.
Respect comes to one who speaks the truth.
Posted by:Truth - 05 Aug, 2013
The adverse comments fall into a variety of catagories:
Catagory A) Why dont you investigate gurus other than the ones named here?
Catagory B) You've never been to the ashram and had darshan or been hugged by Amma, how dare you presume to criticise? Only those who already believe in a guru are informed enough to pass jugement (Corboy- those who do believe in a guru would never criticise the guru.)
Catagory C) Investigation & critique of a guru's tax status is always politically motivated
Catagory D) You are insulting Hinduism (That the greedy gurus are the ones most profoundly insulting and exploiting Hinduism is never considered-Corboy)
Catagory E) You are a traitor to Indian tradition if you are Indian or Desi and dare criticise
Catagory F) You are not an Indian and therefore have no right to criticise
Catagory G) Scientists and doctors and academics have received darshan and hugs, that proves its real. (Gurus do all they can to get photo opportunities with high prestige people. Perhaps these persons visited in a private capacity and did not know in advance that the guru's PR engine would link their careers as scientists and academics to the guru so as to give derivative prestige to the guru.
And..if one is a graduate or faculty member of a high prestige university such as MIT, Stanford, or Harvard College, one is vulnerable to being co-opted without one's knowledge by prestige hunting gurus and other snake oil projects.
And this still doesnt answer where most of these gurus' bloated fortunes are actually being spent.)
Catagory H) So what if not all of the money is being spent on charities? At least some of it is, and thats better than nothing!
Catagory I) So what if some of the guru's followers misbehave or act in nasty ways? They'd be even crazier and worse off without the guru!
Note the variety of perspectives in the comments section - Corboy
This is Google's cache of [www.siliconindia.com]. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Feb 10, 2014 13:36:19 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime.
Current page
[www.siliconindia.com]
Indian Spiritual Gurus and Their Empire of Wealth
By SiliconIndia | Thursday, 25 July 2013, 00:29 Hrs | 6 Comments
Bangalore: Over the years many Indian ‘gurus’ have been accused and being exposed. Indian culture has great amount of spiritual beliefs imbibed into it and many fake gurus tend to take advantage of it and exploit the common people. Some of these religious gurus are among the biggest money minters in the country.
One of the most famed gurus of India, Baba Ramdev runs a multi-crore empire, possesses a Scottish island and has an estimated wealth of $202,503,000. Read on to know few of the multi millionaire Indian gurus who are making it big bucks.
Mata Amritanandamayi
Estimated net worth: $273,257,000
Sudhamani Idamannel, also known as Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and Amma ("Mother"), the Hindu spiritual leader and teacher is famous as the “The Hugging Saint”. She has hugged close to 30 million people to date, she is widely respected for her humanitarian activities and is probably by far the richest godwoman in the country.
Controversies:
The Kerala-based writer and head of the Indian Rationalist Association, Sreeni Pattathanam wrote the book Matha Amritanandamayi: Sacred Stories and Realities, a controversial critique first published in 1985. The author reportedly claimed that miracles of Amritanandamayi are fake and bogus and there also have been many deaths around Amritanandamayi’s ashrams that are suspicious.
In June 2007, Shantanu Guha Ray wrote on Tehelka weekly that Amritanandamayi Math had large annual turnover of INR crores. In June 2007, novelist Paul Zacharia wrote on Tehelka that Amritanandamayi goes scotfree from scrutinies on money with foreign
Reader's comments(6)
1: THIS ARTICLE AND THESE TYPE OF ARTICLES ARE ALL BOGUS. YOU DON'T EXPOSE MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN GURUS. YOU DON'T EXPOSE CORPORATES,BOLLYWOOD ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. IT SEEMS THAT YOUR ENTERPRISE IS RUN BY AL QUIDA OR ISI. EVERYBODY KNOWS DAOOD INVESTMENTS IN INDIAN FILMS, HE COULD BE INVESTING IN YOUR ENTERPRISE AS WELL TO INSULT HINDUISM.
Posted by:rocket singh - 03 Sep, 2013
Reply Report abuse
2: There must be strict enquiries on the wealth acquired by these god-men and god-women and the source of crores of rupees especially from outside the country. Under the label of spirituality there must be exploration into what these huge cash flow and revenues are being spent for. A small portion of the wealth and revenue being spent for humanitarian labels, can't justify the multiples of those amounts being used for obscure purposes! Unfortunately authorities are purposefully negleting such demands.
Posted by:Shan - 29 Aug, 2013
Reply Report abuse
3: why don't you write on ISKON
Posted by:kondalaxmanbabu - 26 Aug, 2013
Reply Report abuse
4: i srongly believe baba ramdev,i suggest the authour to cpmment on any person carefully or public will throw this kind of news agencies.
Posted by:kondalaxmanbabu - 26 Aug, 2013
Reply Report abuse
5: Another example of SiliconIndia's poor journalism. Tehelka's (stooge of CONgressi looters) investigative journalism as a basis for this article exposes the hollowness in the whole article. e.g. Baba Ramdev's tax evasion issue was purely politically motivated as he led the aggressive campaign for bringing black money. So far, neither UPA appointed IT officers couldn't incriminate him as his organization maintains all the records and transactions are transparent. He is crusading against corrupt Pharma industries by reviving India's ancient Ayurveda. He has been running several charities for improving the health of people of India. Could anyone organize without money at national level?
Yet, these paid-Sickular media cannot expose lakhs of crores of black money owned by our rogue politicians from fake Gandhi family to rogue Karunanidhi's family.
Posted by:Pal - 17 Aug, 2013
Reply Report abuse
6: It looks like the author never ever had visited the ashram or ahve received the 'so called' hug from her.
One who has ever received her hug can never write such a hollow article on Amma.
Till now 35 million people have received amma's hug. This includes doctors, engineer's, Harvard and MIT passouts, Scientists and many more. Please do the effort of asking anyone of them about her.
This effort is the least thing one can do before writing an article.
Please don't be a parrot or tape recorder that reads and spaeks. have the confidence of going out in the field and then to write.
Respect comes to one who speaks the truth.
Posted by:Truth - 05 Aug, 2013
The adverse comments fall into a variety of catagories:
Catagory A) Why dont you investigate gurus other than the ones named here?
Catagory B) You've never been to the ashram and had darshan or been hugged by Amma, how dare you presume to criticise? Only those who already believe in a guru are informed enough to pass jugement (Corboy- those who do believe in a guru would never criticise the guru.)
Catagory C) Investigation & critique of a guru's tax status is always politically motivated
Catagory D) You are insulting Hinduism (That the greedy gurus are the ones most profoundly insulting and exploiting Hinduism is never considered-Corboy)
Catagory E) You are a traitor to Indian tradition if you are Indian or Desi and dare criticise
Catagory F) You are not an Indian and therefore have no right to criticise
Catagory G) Scientists and doctors and academics have received darshan and hugs, that proves its real. (Gurus do all they can to get photo opportunities with high prestige people. Perhaps these persons visited in a private capacity and did not know in advance that the guru's PR engine would link their careers as scientists and academics to the guru so as to give derivative prestige to the guru.
And..if one is a graduate or faculty member of a high prestige university such as MIT, Stanford, or Harvard College, one is vulnerable to being co-opted without one's knowledge by prestige hunting gurus and other snake oil projects.
And this still doesnt answer where most of these gurus' bloated fortunes are actually being spent.)
Catagory H) So what if not all of the money is being spent on charities? At least some of it is, and thats better than nothing!
Catagory I) So what if some of the guru's followers misbehave or act in nasty ways? They'd be even crazier and worse off without the guru!
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